Systems and methods for a physical uplink control channel on a secondary cell

ABSTRACT

A method by a user equipment (UE) is described. The method includes receiving a RRC message including a first parameter related to a maximum number of scheduling request transmission for a secondary cell, performing a scheduling request procedure based on the first parameter, and transmitting a scheduling request on a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) on the secondary cell. The RRC message further includes a second parameter related to a maximum number of scheduling request transmission for a primary cell and the scheduling request procedure is performed further based on the second parameter.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to communication systems. Morespecifically, the present disclosure relates to systems and methods fora physical uplink control channel on a secondary cell.

BACKGROUND ART

Wireless communication devices have become smaller and more powerful inorder to meet consumer needs and to improve portability and convenience.Consumers have become dependent upon wireless communication devices andhave come to expect reliable service, expanded areas of coverage andincreased functionality. A wireless communication system may providecommunication for a number of wireless communication devices, each ofwhich may be serviced by a base station. A base station may be a devicethat communicates with wireless communication devices.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

As wireless communication devices have advanced, improvements incommunication capacity, speed, flexibility, low complexity andefficiency have been sought. However, improving communication capacity,speed, flexibility, low complexity and efficiency may present certainproblems.

For example, wireless communication devices may communicate with one ormore devices using multiple cells. However, the multiple cells may onlyoffer limited flexibility and efficiency. As illustrated by thisdiscussion, systems and methods that improve communication flexibilityand efficiency may be beneficial.

Solution to Problem

According to the present invention, there is provided a method by a userequipment (UE), comprising: receiving a RRC message including a firstparameter related to a maximum number of scheduling request transmissionfor a secondary cell; performing a scheduling request procedure based onthe first parameter; and transmitting a scheduling request on a PhysicalUplink Control Channel (PUCCH) on the secondary cell.

According to the present invention, there is provided a method by anevolved Node B (eNB), comprising: transmitting a RRC message including afirst parameter related to a maximum number of scheduling requesttransmission for a secondary cell; and receiving a scheduling request ona Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) on the secondary cell, whereina scheduling request procedure is performed based on the firstparameter.

According to the present invention, there is provided a user equipment(UE), comprising: a processing circuitry configured and/or programmedto: receive a RRC message including a first parameter related to amaximum number of scheduling request transmission for a secondary cell;perform a scheduling request procedure based on the first parameter; andtransmit a scheduling request on a Physical Uplink Control Channel(PUCCH) on the secondary cell.

According to the present invention, there is provided an evolved Node B(eNB), comprising: a processing circuitry configured and/or programmedto: transmit a RRC message including a first parameter related to amaximum number of scheduling request transmission for a secondary cell;

and receive a scheduling request on a Physical Uplink Control Channel(PUCCH) on the secondary cell, wherein a scheduling request procedure isperformed based on the first parameter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating one configuration of one or moreevolved Node Bs (eNBs) and one or more user equipments (UEs) in whichsystems and methods for a physical uplink control channel on a secondarycell may be implemented;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating one implementation of a method forperforming a scheduling request procedure by a UE;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating one implementation of a method forperforming a scheduling request procedure by an eNB;

FIG. 4a-d is diagrams illustrating examples for configuration of ascheduling request on a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) on aprimary cell or a secondary cell;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating one implementation of a method forperforming a scheduling request procedure related toactivation/deactivation by a UE;

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating another implementation of a methodfor performing a scheduling request procedure related toactivation/deactivation by an eNB;

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating one implementation of a method forperforming a PUCCH release procedure related to a scheduling request bya UE;

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating one implementation of a method forperforming a PUCCH release procedure related to a scheduling request byan eNB;

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram illustrating one implementation of a method 900for setting SR prohibit timer for a scheduling request procedure by theUE;

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating one implementation of a method1000 for setting SR prohibit timer for a scheduling request procedure bythe eNB;

FIG. 11 illustrates various components that may be utilized in a UE;

FIG. 12 illustrates various components that may be utilized in an eNB;

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Detailed Description

A method for by a user equipment (UE) is described. The method includesreceiving a RRC message including a first parameter related to a maximumnumber of scheduling request transmission for a secondary cell,performing a scheduling request procedure based on the first parameter,and transmitting a scheduling request on a Physical Uplink ControlChannel (PUCCH) on the secondary cell. The RRC message further includesa second parameter related to a maximum number of scheduling requesttransmission for a primary cell and the scheduling request procedure isperformed further based on the second parameter.

A method for by a user equipment (UE) is described. The method includestransmitting a RRC message including a first parameter related to amaximum number of scheduling request transmission for a secondary cell,and receiving a scheduling request on a Physical Uplink Control Channel(PUCCH) on the secondary cell, wherein a scheduling request procedure isperformed based on the first parameter. The RRC message further includesa second parameter related to a maximum number of scheduling requesttransmission for a primary cell and the scheduling request procedure isperformed further based on the second parameter.

A user equipment (UE) is described. The UE includes a processingcircuitry. The processing circuitry is configured and/or programmed toreceive a RRC message including a first parameter related to a maximumnumber of scheduling request transmission for a secondary cell, performa scheduling request procedure based on the first parameter, andtransmit a scheduling request on a Physical Uplink Control Channel(PUCCH) on the secondary cell. The RRC message further includes a secondparameter related to a maximum number of scheduling request transmissionfor a primary cell and the scheduling request procedure is performedfurther based on the second parameter.

An evolved Node B (eNB) is described. The eNB includes a processingcircuitry is configured and/or programmed to transmit a RRC messageincluding a first parameter related to a maximum number of schedulingrequest transmission for a secondary cell, and receive a schedulingrequest on a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) on the secondarycell, wherein a scheduling request procedure is performed based on thefirst parameter. The RRC message further includes a second parameterrelated to a maximum number of scheduling request transmission for aprimary cell and the scheduling request procedure is performed furtherbased on the second parameter.

Another method by a user equipment (UE) is described. The methodincludes setting a value related to the maximum number of schedulingrequest transmission based on whether a secondary cell is activated, andinstructing a physical layer of the UE to signal a scheduling request(SR) on a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) based on whetherscheduling request counter is less than the maximum number of schedulingrequest transmission. The scheduling request counter is incremented in acase that the scheduling request counter is less than the maximum numberof scheduling request transmission. The method may further includetransmitting, to an evolved Node B (eNB) the SR on either or both of thePUCCH on a primary cell and the PUCCH on a secondary cell.

Another method by an evolved Node B (eNB) is described. The methodincludes transmitting, to a user equipment (UE), anActivation/Deactivation Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element(CE), and receiving, from a user equipment (UE), a scheduling request(SR) on a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH). The SR is transmittedby the UE based on whether scheduling request counter is less than themaximum number of scheduling request transmission and the schedulingrequest counter is incremented in a case that the scheduling requestcounter is less than the maximum number of scheduling requesttransmission and a value related to the maximum number of schedulingrequest transmission is set based on whether a secondary cell isactivated. The SR may be transmitted on either or both of the PUCCH on aprimary cell and the PUCCH on a secondary cell.

Another user equipment (UE) is described. The UE includes a processingcircuitry. The processing circuitry is configured and/or programmed toset a value related to the maximum number of scheduling requesttransmission based on whether a secondary cell is activated, andinstruct a physical layer of the UE to signal a scheduling request (SR)on a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) based on whether schedulingrequest counter is less than the maximum number of scheduling requesttransmission. The scheduling request counter is incremented in a casethat the scheduling request counter is less than the maximum number ofscheduling request transmission. The processing circuitry may further beconfigured and/or programmed to further transmit, to an evolved Node B(eNB) the SR on either or both of the PUCCH on a primary cell and thePUCCH on a secondary cell.

Another evolved Node B (eNB) is described. The eNB includes a processingcircuitry. The processing circuitry is configured and/or programmed totransmit an Activation/Deactivation Medium Access Control (MAC) ControlElement (CE), and receive, from a user equipment (UE), a schedulingrequest (SR) on a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH). The SR istransmitted by the UE based on whether scheduling request counter isless than the maximum number of scheduling request transmission and thescheduling request counter is incremented in a case that the schedulingrequest counter is less than the maximum number of scheduling requesttransmission and a value related to the maximum number of schedulingrequest transmission is set based on whether a secondary cell isactivated. The SR may be transmitted on either or both of the PUCCH on aprimary cell and the PUCCH on a secondary cell.

Yet another method by a user equipment (UE) is described. The methodincludes receiving by a Radio Resource Control (RRC) entity of the UE, aPhysical Uplink Contrl Channel (PUCCH)/Sounding Reference Signal (SRS)release request from a lower layer of the UE, receiving by the RRCentity of the UE, a PUCCH release request from a lower layer of the UE,applying a default physical channel configuration for a schedulingrequest configuration for all serving cells, upon receiving thePUCCH/SRS release request from the lower layer of the UE, and applyingthe default physical channel configuration for a scheduling requestconfiguration for a concerned secondary cell, upon receiving the PUCCHrelease request from the lower layers of the UE. The default physicalchannel configuration for the scheduling request configuration is arelease and the PUCCH release request is notified by a Medium AccessControl (MAC) entity of the UE in a case that a time alignment timerexpires, the time alignment timer is associated with a secondary timingadvance group (sTAG) and the concerned secondary cell belongs to thesTAG.

Yet another method by an evolved Node B (eNB) is described. The methodincludes transmitting, to a user equipment (UE), a Timing AdvanceCommand Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE), andconsidering that the UE applies a default physical channel configurationfor a scheduling request configuration for all serving cells, uponreceiving the PUCCH/SRS release request from the lower layer of the UEand the UE applies the default physical channel configuration for ascheduling request configuration for a concerned secondary cell, uponreceiving the PUCCH release request from the lower layers of the UE. Thedefault physical channel configuration for the scheduling requestconfiguration is a release and the PUCCH release request is notified, tothe lower layer of the UE, by a Medium Access Control (MAC) entity ofthe UE in a case that a time alignment timer expires, the time alignmenttimer is associated with a secondary timing advance group (sTAG) and theconcerned secondary cell belongs to the sTAG.

Yet another user equipment (UE) is described. The UE includes aprocessing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured and/orprogrammed to receive by a Radio Resource Control (RRC) entity of theUE, a Physical Uplink Contrl Channel (PUCCH)/Sounding Reference Signal(SRS) release request from a lower layer of the UE, receive by the RRCentity of the UE, a PUCCH release request from a lower layer of the UE,apply a default physical channel configuration for a scheduling requestconfiguration for all serving cells, upon receiving the PUCCH/SRSrelease request from the lower layer of the UE, and apply the defaultphysical channel configuration for a scheduling request configurationfor a concerned secondary cell, upon receiving the PUCCH release requestfrom the lower layers of the UE. The default physical channelconfiguration for the scheduling request configuration is a release andthe PUCCH release request is notified by a Medium Access Control (MAC)entity of the UE in a case that a time alignment timer expires, the timealignment timer is associated with a secondary timing advance group(sTAG) and the concerned secondary cell belongs to the sTAG.

Yet another evolved Node B (eNB) is described. The eNB includes aprocessing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured and/orprogrammed to transmit, to a user equipment (UE), a Timing AdvanceCommand Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE), and considerthat the UE applies a default physical channel configuration for ascheduling request configuration for all serving cells, upon receivingthe PUCCH/SRS release request from the lower layer of the UE and the UEapplies the default physical channel configuration for a schedulingrequest configuration for a concerned secondary cell, upon receiving thePUCCH release request from the lower layers of the UE. The defaultphysical channel configuration for the scheduling request configurationis a release and the PUCCH release request is notified, to the lowerlayer of the UE, by a Medium Access Control (MAC) entity of the UE in acase that a time alignment timer expires, the time alignment timer isassociated with a secondary timing advance group (sTAG) and theconcerned secondary cell belongs to the sTAG.

Yet another method by a user equipment (UE) is described. The methodincludes receiving, from an evolved Node B (eNB), a RRC messageincluding a parameter related to a SR periodicity for a secondary celland a parameter related to a SR prohibit timer, and setting the SRprohibit timer based on the SR periodicity for the secondary cell.

Setting the SR prohibit timer may be further based on the SR periodicityfor the primary cell.

Yet another method by an evolved Node B (eNB) is described. The methodincludes transmitting, to a user equipment (UE), a RRC message includinga parameter related to a SR periodicity for a secondary cell and aparameter related to a SR prohibit timer, and considering that the UEsets the SR prohibit timer based on the SR periodicity for the secondarycell. The method may further include considering that the UE sets the SRprohibit timer based on the SR periodicity for the secondary cell andthe SR periodicity for the primary cell.

Yet another user equipment (UE) is described. The UE includes aprocessing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured and/orprogrammed to receive, from an evolved Node B (eNB), a RRC messageincluding a parameter related to a SR periodicity for a secondary celland a parameter related to a SR prohibit timer, and set the SR prohibittimer based on the SR periodicity for the secondary cell. To set the SRprohibit timer is further based on the SR periodicity for the primarycell.

Yet another evolved Node B (eNB) is described. The eNB includes aprocessing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured and/orprogrammed to transmit, to a user equipment (UE), a RRC messageincluding a parameter related to a SR periodicity for a secondary celland a parameter related to a SR prohibit timer, and consider that the UEset the SR prohibit timer based on the SR periodicity for the secondarycell. The processing circuitry may be further configured and/orprogrammed to consider that the UE sets the SR prohibit timer based onthe SR periodicity for the secondary cell and the SR periodicity for theprimary cell.

3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) is the name given to a project to improvethe Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) mobile phone ordevice standard to cope with future requirements. In one aspect, UMTShas been modified to provide support and specification for the EvolvedUniversal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) and Evolved UniversalTerrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN).

At least some aspects of the systems and methods disclosed herein may bedescribed in relation to the 3GPP LTE, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) and otherstandards (e.g., 3GPP Releases (Rel-) 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and/or 13).However, the scope of the present disclosure should not be limited inthis regard. At least some aspects of the systems and methods disclosedherein may be utilized in other types of wireless communication systems.

A wireless communication device may be an electronic device used tocommunicate voice and/or data to a base station, which in turn maycommunicate with a network of devices (e.g., public switched telephonenetwork (PSTN), the Internet, etc.). In describing systems and methodsherein, a wireless communication device may alternatively be referred toas a mobile station, a UE (User Equipment), an access terminal, asubscriber station, a mobile terminal, a remote station, a userterminal, a terminal, a subscriber unit, a mobile device, etc. Examplesof wireless communication devices include cellular phones, smart phones,personal digital assistants (PDAs), laptop computers, netbooks,e-readers, wireless modems, etc. In 3GPP specifications, a wirelesscommunication device is typically referred to as a UE. However, as thescope of the present disclosure should not be limited to the 3GPPstandards, the terms “UE” and “wireless communication device” may beused interchangeably herein to mean the more general term “wirelesscommunication device.”

In 3GPP specifications, a base station is typically referred to as aNode B, an eNB, a home enhanced or evolved Node B (HeNB) or some othersimilar terminology. As the scope of the disclosure should not belimited to 3GPP standards, the terms “base station,” “Node B,” “eNB,”and “HeNB” may be used interchangeably herein to mean the more generalterm “base station.” Furthermore, one example of a “base station” is anaccess point. An access point may be an electronic device that providesaccess to a network (e.g., Local Area Network (LAN), the Internet, etc.)for wireless communication devices. The term “communication device” maybe used to denote both a wireless communication device and/or a basestation.

It should be noted that as used herein, a “cell” may be anycommunication channel that is specified by standardization or regulatorybodies to be used for International Mobile Telecommunications-Advanced(IMT-Advanced) and all of it or a subset of it may be adopted by 3GPP aslicensed bands (e.g., frequency bands) to be used for communicationbetween an eNB and a UE. It should also be noted that in E-UTRA andE-UTRAN overall description, as used herein, a “cell” may be defined as“combination of downlink (DL) and optionally uplink (UL) resources.” Thelinking between the carrier frequency of the downlink resources and thecarrier frequency of the uplink resources may be indicated in the systeminformation transmitted on the downlink resources.

“Configured cells” are those cells of which the UE is aware and isallowed by an eNB to transmit or receive information. “Configuredcell(s)” may be serving cell(s). The UE may receive system informationand perform the required measurements on configured cells. “Configuredcell(s)” for a radio connection may consist of a primary cell and/or no,one, or more secondary cell(s). “Activated cells” are those configuredcells on which the UE is transmitting and receiving. That is, activatedcells are those cells for which the UE monitors the physical downlinkcontrol channel (PDCCH) and in the case of a downlink transmission,those cells for which the UE decodes a physical downlink shared channel(PDCCH). “Deactivated cells” are those configured cells that the UE isnot monitoring the transmission PDCCH. It should be noted that a “cell”may be described in terms of differing dimensions. For example, a “cell”may have temporal, spatial (e.g., geographical) and frequencycharacteristics.

The eNBs may also be connected by the S1 interface to the evolved packetcore (EPC). For instance, the eNBs may be connected to a mobilitymanagement entity (MME) by the S1-MME interface and to the servinggateway (S-GW) by the S1-U interface 433 a. The S1 interface supports amany-to-many relation between MMEs, serving gateways and the eNBs. TheS1-MME interface is the S1 interface for the control plane and the S1-Uinterface is the S1 interface for the user plane. The Uu interface is aradio interface between the UE and the eNB for the radio protocol ofE-UTRAN 435 a.

The radio protocol architecture of E-UTRAN may include the user planeand the control plane. The user plane protocol stack may include packetdata convergence protocol (PDCP), radio link control (RLC), mediumaccess control (MAC) and physical (PHY) layers. A DRB (Data RadioBearer) is a radio bearer that carries user data (as opposed to controlplane signaling). For example, a DRB may be mapped to the user planeprotocol stack. The PDCP, RLC, MAC and PHY sublayers (terminated at theeNB 460 a on the network) may perform functions (e.g., headercompression, ciphering, scheduling, ARQ and HARQ) for the user plane.PDCP entities are located in the PDCP sublayer. RLC entities are locatedin the RLC sublayer. MAC entities are located in the MAC sublayer. ThePHY entities are located in the PHY sublayer.

The control plane may include a control plane protocol stack. The PDCPsublayer (terminated in eNB on the network side) may perform functions(e.g., ciphering and integrity protection) for the control plane. TheRLC and MAC sublayers (terminated in eNB on the network side) mayperform the same functions as for the user plane. The Radio ResourceControl (RRC) (terminated in eNB on the network side) may perform thefollowing functions. The RRC may perform broadcast functions, paging,RRC connection management, radio bearer (RB) control, mobilityfunctions, UE measurement reporting and control. The Non-Access Stratum(NAS) control protocol (terminated in MME on the network side) mayperform, among other things, evolved packet system (EPS) bearermanagement, authentication, evolved packet system connection management(ECM)-IDLE mobility handling, paging origination in ECM-IDLE andsecurity control.

Signaling Radio Bearers (SRBs) are Radio Bearers (RB) that may be usedonly for the transmission of RRC and NAS messages. Three SRBs aredefined. SRB0 may be used for RRC messages using the common controlchannel (CCCH) logical channel. SRB1 may be used for RRC messages (whichmay include a piggybacked NAS message) as well as for NAS messages priorto the establishment of SRB2, all using the dedicated control channel(DCCH) logical channel. SRB2 may be used for RRC messages which includelogged measurement information as well as for NAS messages, all usingthe DCCH logical channel. SRB2 has a lower-priority than SRB1 and may beconfigured by E-UTRAN (e.g., eNB) after security activation. A broadcastcontrol channel (BCCH) logical channel may be used for broadcastingsystem information. Some of BCCH logical channel may convey systeminformation which may be sent from the E-UTRAN to the UE via BCH(Broadcast Channel) transport channel. Some of BCCH logical channel mayconvey system information which may be sent from the E-UTRAN to the UEvia DL-SCH (Downlink Shared Channel) transport channel.

For example, the DL-DCCH logical channel may be used (but not limitedto) for a RRC connection reconfiguration message, a RRC connectionreestablishment message, a RRC connection release, a UE CapabilityEnquiry message, a DL Information Transfer message or a Security ModeCommand message. UL-DCCH logical channel may be used (but not limitedto) for a measurement report message, a RRC Connection ReconfigurationComplete message, a RRC Connection Reestablishment Complete message, aRRC Connection Setup Complete message, a Security Mode Complete message,a Security Mode Failure message, a UE Capability Information, message, aUL Handover Preparation Transfer message, a UL Information Transfermessage, a Counter Check Response message, a UE Information Responsemessage, a Proximity Indication message, a RN (Relay Node)Reconfiguration Complete message, an MBMS Counting Response message, aninter Frequency RSTD Measurement Indication message, a UE AssistanceInformation message, an In-device Coexistence Indication message, anMBMS Interest Indication message, an SCG Failure Information message.DL-CCCH logical channel may be used (but not limited to) for a RRCConnection Reestablishment message, a RRC Connection ReestablishmentReject message, a RRC Connection Reject message, or a RRC ConnectionSetup message. UL-CCCH logical channel may be used (but not limited to)for a RRC Connection Reestablishment Request message, or a RRCConnection Request message.

The UE may receive one or more RRC messages from the eNB to obtain RRCconfigurations or parameters. The RRC layer of the UE may configure RRClayer and/or lower layers (e.g., PHY layer, MAC layer, RLC layer, PDCPlayer) of the UE according to the RRC configurations or parameters whichmay be configured by the RRC messages, broadcasted system information,and so on. The eNB may transmit one or more RRC messages to the UE tocause the UE to configure RRC layer and/or lower layers of the UEaccording to the RRC configurations or parameters which may beconfigured by the RRC messages, broadcasted system information, and soon.

When carrier aggregation is configured, the UE may have one RRCconnection with the network. One radio interface may provide carrieraggregation. During RRC connection establishment, re-establishment andhandover, one serving cell may provide Non-Access Stratum (NAS) mobilityinformation (e.g., a tracking area identity (TAI)). During RRCconnection re-establishment and handover, one serving cell may provide asecurity input. This cell may be referred to as the primary cell(PCell). In the downlink, the component carrier corresponding to thePCell may be the downlink primary component carrier (DL PCC), while inthe uplink it may be the uplink primary component carrier (UL PCC).

Depending on UE capabilities, one or more SCells may be configured toform together with the PCell a set of serving cells. In the downlink,the component carrier corresponding to an SCell may be a downlinksecondary component carrier (DL SCC), while in the uplink it may be anuplink secondary component carrier (UL SCC).

The configured set of serving cells for the UE, therefore, may consistof one PCell and one or more SCells. For each SCell, the usage of uplinkresources by the UE 102 (in addition to the downlink resources) may beconfigurable. The number of DL SCCs configured may be larger than orequal to the number of UL SCCs and no SCell may be configured for usageof uplink resources only.

From a UE viewpoint, each uplink resource may belong to one servingcell. The number of serving cells that may be configured depends on theaggregation capability of the UE. The PCell may only be changed using ahandover procedure (e.g., with a security key change and a random accessprocedure). A PCell may be used for transmission of the PUCCH. A primarysecondary cell (PSCell) may also be used for transmission of the PUCCH.The PCell or PSCell may not be de-activated. Re-establishment may betriggered when the PCell experiences radio link failure (RLF), not whenthe SCells experience RLF. Furthermore, NAS information may be takenfrom the PCell.

The reconfiguration, addition and removal of SCells may be performed byRRC. At intra-LTE handover, Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer may alsoadd, remove or reconfigure SCells for usage with a target PCell. Whenadding a new SCell, dedicated RRC signaling may be used for sending allrequired system information of the SCell (e.g., while in connected mode,UEs need not acquire broadcasted system information directly from theSCells).

The systems and methods described herein may enhance the efficient useof radio resources in Carrier aggregation (CA) operation. Carrieraggregation refers to the concurrent utilization of more than onecomponent carrier (CC). In carrier aggregation, more than one cell maybe aggregated to a UE. In one example, carrier aggregation may be usedto increase the effective bandwidth available to a UE. In traditionalcarrier aggregation, a single eNB is assumed to provide multiple servingcells for a UE. Even in scenarios where two or more cells may beaggregated (e.g., a macro cell aggregated with remote radio head (RRH)cells) the cells may be controlled (e.g., scheduled) by a single eNB.

As has been recognized already, not all the CA aspects scale directlywith an increasing number of component carriers. As an example, if thenumber of CA capable UEs and/or the aggregated CCs is increased, thecell used as a primary cell (PCell) may be highly loaded. This may bebecause there are key features which are applied to the PCell only, i.e.the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) transmission. The increasein the number of supported component carriers may call for rather largeincrease in the required PUCCH payload size per CA UE, which may createeven more severe impact on PCell uplink (UL) load with increasing numberof CA UEs. Accommodating all the PUCCH transmissions in the PCellapparently may impact performance, especially for the non-CA UEs. Inthis case, the PCell-change between the macro cell and a small cellserved by an RRH can distribute the PUCCH resources of UEs in thenetwork and hence can resolve the overload issue. However, this mayeliminate the benefit of installation of the small cell equipment likeRRH in a simple manner.

In Rel-12, Dual Connectivity (DC) was developed, in which the UE may berequired to be capable of UL-CA with simultaneous PUCCH/PUCCH andPUCCH/PUSCH transmissions across cell-groups (CGs). In a small celldeployment scenario, each node (e.g., eNB, RRH, etc.) may have its ownindependent scheduler. To maximize the efficiency of radio resourcesutilization of both nodes, a UE may connect to two or more nodes thathave different schedulers. A UE may be configured multiple groups ofserving cells, where each group may have carrier aggregation operation(e.g., if the group includes more than one serving cell). A UE inRRC_CONNECTED may be configured with Dual Connectivity, when configuredwith a Master and a Secondary Cell Group. A Cell Group (CG) may be asubset of the serving cells of a UE, configured with Dual Connectivity(DC), i.e. a Master Cell Group (MCG) or a Secondary Cell Group (SCG).The Master Cell Group may be a group of serving cells of a UE comprisingof the PCell and zero or more secondary cells. The Secondary Cell Group(SCG) may be a group of secondary cells of a UE, configured with DC,comprising of the PSCell and zero or more other secondary cells. APrimary Secondary Cell (PSCell) may be the SCG cell in which the UE isinstructed to perform random access when performing the SCG changeprocedure. In Dual Connectivity, two MAC entities may be configured inthe UE: one for the MCG and one for the SCG. Each MAC entity may beconfigured by RRC with a serving cell supporting PUCCH transmission andcontention based Random Access. In a MAC layer, the term Special Cell(SpCell) may refer to such cell, whereas the term SCell may refer toother serving cells. The term SpCell either may refer to the PCell ofthe MCG or the PSCell of the SCG depending on if the MAC entity isassociated to the MCG or the SCG, respectively. A Timing Advance Group(TAG) containing the SpCell of a MAC entity may be referred to asprimary TAG (pTAG), whereas the term secondary TAG (sTAG) refers toother TAGs.

The MAC entity has a configurable timer (i.e., a time alignment timer(timeAlignmentTimer)) per TAG. The timeAlignmentTimer is used to controlhow long the MAC entity considers the Serving Cells belonging to theassociated TAG to be uplink time aligned. The eNB may configure the UEwith each value for the time alignment timer for each TAG. The UE mayreceive a Timing Advance Command MAC control element from a eNB. TheTiming Advance Command MAC CE may indicate a TAG and a Timing AdvanceCommand. The Timing Advance Command field in the Timing Advance CommandMAC CE may indicate an index value T_(A) (0, 1, 2 . . . 63) used tocontrol the amount of timing adjustment that MAC entity has to apply.The UE may apply the Timing Advance Command for an indicated TAG. The UEmay start or restart the timeAlignmentTimer associated with theindicated TAG. In a case that a timeAlignmentTimer expires and thetimeAlignmentTimer is associated with the pTAG, the UE may flush allHARQ buffers for all serving cells, may notify RRC to release PhysicalUplink Control Channel (PUCCH)/Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) for allserving cells, may clear any configured downlink assignments and uplinkgrants, and may consider all running timeAlignmentTimers as expired. Ina case that a timeAlignmentTimer expires and the timeAlignmentTimer isassociated with an sTAG, for all Serving Cells belonging to this TAG,the UE may flush all HARQ buffers, and may notify RRC to release SRS.

The UE may receive an Activation/Deactivation Command MAC controlelement from a eNB. The network (e.g., eNB) may activate and deactivatethe SCell(s) by sending the Activation/Deactivation MAC control element.The Activation/Deactivation MAC control element may include a field Ci.If there is an SCell configured with SCellIndex i, Ci field indicatesthe activation/deactivation status of the SCell with SCellIndex i. TheCi field is set to “1” to indicate that the SCell with SCellIndex i isactivated. The Ci field is set to “0” to indicate that the SCell withSCellIndex i is deactivated.

Under Rel-12 DC, the PUCCH on the secondary cell (SCell) for CA wassupposed to be introduced by reusing the PUCCH mechanism (e.g., PUCCH onPSCell) for DC as much as possible, but the PUCCH on the secondary cell(SCell) for CA was not introduced in Rel-12. PUCCH on SCell for CA canease the burden in terms of PUCCH considering an increase in the numberof DL carriers that can be aggregated.

Under Rel-13 CA, the PUCCH on the SCell may be introduced. The UE may beconfigured with a plurality of PUCCH groups. One MAC entity may beconfigured with the plurality of the PUCCH groups. A PUCCH SCell may bean SCell that is configured with PUCCH. A Primary PUCCH group (PPG) maybe a group of serving cells including SpCell whose PUCCH signaling isassociated with the PUCCH on SpCell. A Secondary PUCCH group (SPG) maybe a group of SCells whose PUCCH signaling is associated with the PUCCHon the PUCCH SCell. There may be no contention based random access onthe PUCCH SCell. PUCCH mapping of serving cells may be configured byRRC. Activation/Deactivation may be supported for the PUCCH SCell. TheSCell and The PUCCH SCell may not support radio link monitoring thoughthe SpCell may support radio link monitoring.

The functions of the different MAC entities in the UE may operateindependently if not otherwise indicated. The timers and parameters usedin each MAC entity may be configured independently if not otherwiseindicated. The Serving Cells, Cell-Radio Network Temporary Identifier(RNTI) (C-RNTI), radio bearers, logical channels, upper and lower layerentities, Logical Channel Groups (LCGs), and HARQ entities considered byeach MAC entity may refer to those mapped to that MAC entity if nototherwise indicated.

These MAC entities may handle the following transport channels:

-   -   Broadcast Channel (BCH);    -   Downlink Shared Channel(s) (DL-SCH);    -   Paging Channel (PCH);    -   Uplink Shared Channel(s) (UL-SCH);    -   Random Access Channel(s) (RACH);    -   Multicast Channel(s) (MCH). These MAC entities may use timers. A        timer is running once it is started, until it is stopped or        until it expires; otherwise it is not running A timer can be        started if it is not running or restarted if it is running A        timer may be always started or restarted from its initial value.

If the MAC entity is configured with one or more SCells, there may bemultiple Downlink Shared Channel(s) (DL-SCH) and there may be multipleUplink Shared Channel(s) (UL-SCH) and Random Access Channel(s) (RACH)per MAC entity; one DL-SCH and UL-SCH on the SpCell, one DL-SCH, zero orone UL-SCH and zero or one RACH for each SCell. A Transmission TimeInterval (TTI) may be a subframe (i.e, 1 ms).

In one implementation of the MAC entity, a scheduling request procedurewhich is summarized in Listing (1) may be performed if the MAC entity isnot configured with a SPG.

The Scheduling Request (SR) may be used for requesting UL-SCH resourcesfor new transmission. When an SR is triggered, it may be considered aspending until it is cancelled. All pending SR(s) may be cancelled and SRprohibit timer (sr-ProhibitTimer) may be stopped when a MAC ProtocolData Unit (PDU) is assembled and this PDU includes a Buffer StatusReport (BSR) which contains buffer status up to (and including) the lastevent that triggered a BSR, or when the UL grant(s) can accommodate allpending data available for transmission.

Listing (1) If an SR is triggered and there is no other SR pending, theMAC entity may set the SR_COUNTER to 0. As long as one SR is pending,the MAC entity may for each TTI: - if no UL-SCH resources are availablefor a transmission in this TTI: - if the MAC entity has no valid PUCCHresource for SR configured to any TTI: initiate a Random Accessprocedure on the SpCell and cancel all pending SRs; - else if the MACentity has a valid PUCCH resource for SR configured for this TTI and ifthis TTI is not part of a measurement gap and if sr-ProhibitTimer is notrunning: - if SR_COUNTER < dsr-TransMax: - increment SR_COUNTER by 1; -instruct the physical layer to signal the SR on PUCCH; - start thesr-ProhibitTimer. - else: - notify RRC to release PUCCH/SoundingReference Signal (SRS) for all serving cells; - clear any configureddownlink assignments and uplink grants; - initiate a Random Accessprocedure on the SpCell and cancel all pending SRs.Various examples of the systems and methods disclosed herein are nowdescribed with reference to the Figures, where like reference numbersmay indicate functionally similar elements. The systems and methods asgenerally described and illustrated in the Figures herein could bearranged and designed in a wide variety of different implementations.Thus, the following more detailed description of severalimplementations, as represented in the Figures, is not intended to limitscope, as claimed, but is merely representative of the systems andmethods.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating one configuration of one or moreevolved Node Bs (eNBs) 160 and one or more user equipments (UEs) 102 inwhich systems and methods for accommodating specific UEs may beimplemented. The one or more UEs 102 may communicate with one or moreeNBs 160 using one or more antennas 122 a-n. For example, a UE 102transmits electromagnetic signals to the eNB 160 and receiveselectromagnetic signals from the eNB 160 using the one or more antennas122 a-n. The eNB 160 communicates with the UE 102 using one or moreantennas 180 a-n.

It should be noted that in some configurations, one or more of the UEs102 described herein may be implemented in a single device. For example,multiple UEs 102 may be combined into a single device in someimplementations. Additionally or alternatively, in some configurations,one or more of the eNBs 160 described herein may be implemented in asingle device. For example, multiple eNBs 160 may be combined into asingle device in some implementations. In the context of FIG. 1, forinstance, a single device may include one or more UEs 102 in accordancewith the systems and methods described herein. Additionally oralternatively, one or more eNBs 160 in accordance with the systems andmethods described herein may be implemented as a single device ormultiple devices.

The UE 102 and the eNB 160 may use one or more channels 119, 121 tocommunicate with each other. For example, a UE 102 may transmitinformation or data to the eNB 160 using one or more uplink channels 121and signals. Examples of uplink channels 121 include a physical randomaccess channel (PRACH), a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) and aphysical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), etc. Examples of uplink signalsinclude a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) and a sounding referencesignal (SRS), etc. The one or more eNBs 160 may also transmitinformation or data to the one or more UEs 102 using one or moredownlink channels 119 and signals, for instance. Examples of downlinkchannels 119 include a PDCCH, a PDSCH, an enhanced PDCCH (EPDCCH), etc.Examples of downlink signals include a primary synchronization signal(PSS), a cell-specific reference signal (CRS), and a channel stateinformation (CSI) reference signal (CSI-RS), etc. Other kinds ofchannels or signals may be used.

Each of the one or more UEs 102 may include one or more transceivers118, one or more demodulators 114, one or more decoders 108, one or moreencoders 150, one or more modulators 154, one or more data buffers 104and one or more UE operations modules 124. For example, one or morereception and/or transmission paths may be implemented in the UE 102.For convenience, only a single transceiver 118, decoder 108, demodulator114, encoder 150 and modulator 154 are illustrated in the UE 102, thoughmultiple parallel elements (e.g., transceivers 118, decoders 108,demodulators 114, encoders 150 and modulators 154) may be implemented.

The transceiver 118 may include one or more receivers 120 and one ormore transmitters 158. The one or more receivers 120 may receive signalsfrom the eNB 160 using one or more antennas 122 a-n. For example, thereceiver 120 may receive and downconvert signals to produce one or morereceived signals 116. The one or more received signals 116 may beprovided to a demodulator 114. The one or more transmitters 158 maytransmit signals to the eNB 160 using one or more antennas 122 a-n. Forexample, the one or more transmitters 158 may upconvert and transmit oneor more modulated signals 156.

The demodulator 114 may demodulate the one or more received signals 116to produce one or more demodulated signals 112. The one or moredemodulated signals 112 may be provided to the decoder 108. The UE 102may use the decoder 108 to decode signals. The decoder 108 may produceone or more decoded signals 106, 110. For example, a first UE-decodedsignal 106 may comprise received payload data, which may be stored in adata buffer 104. A second UE-decoded signal 110 may comprise overheaddata and/or control data. For example, the second UE decoded signal 110may provide data that may be used by the UE operations module 124 toperform one or more operations.

As used herein, the term “module” may mean that a particular element orcomponent may be implemented in hardware, software or a combination ofhardware and software. However, it should be noted that any elementdenoted as a “module” herein may alternatively be implemented inhardware. For example, the UE operations module 124 may be implementedin hardware, software or a combination of both.

In general, the UE operations module 124 may enable the UE 102 tocommunicate with the one or more eNBs 160. The UE operations module 124may include one or more of a UE PUCCH resource control module 126, a UEscheduling request operation module 128, a UE Time Alignment operationModule 129, and a UE Activation/Deactivation Module 130. In someimplementations, the UE operations module 124 may include physical (PHY)entities, Medium Access Control (MAC) entities, Radio Link Control (RLC)entities, packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) entities, and an RadioResource Control (RRC) entity.

The UE operations module 124 may provide the benefit of performing ascheduling request procedure efficiently. The UE PUCCH resource controlmodule 126 may control PUCCH Groups and PUCCH resources and controlparameters in PUCCH resource configuration. The UE scheduling requestoperation module 126 may perform a scheduling request procedure. The UETime Alignment operation module 127 may perform a time alignmentprocedure including maintenance of uplink time alignment. The UEActivation/Deactivation module 128 may perform anActivation/Deactivation procedure.

The UE operations module 124 may provide information 148 to the one ormore receivers 120. For example, the UE operations module 124 may informthe receiver(s) 120 when or when not to receive transmissions based onthe RRC message (e.g, broadcasted system information, RRC connectionreconfiguration message), MAC control element (CE), and/or the DCI(Downlink Control Information).

The UE operations module 124 may provide information 138 to thedemodulator 114. For example, the UE operations module 124 may informthe demodulator 114 of a modulation pattern anticipated fortransmissions from the eNB 160.

The UE operations module 124 may provide information 136 to the decoder108. For example, the UE operations module 124 may inform the decoder108 of an anticipated encoding for transmissions from the eNB 160.

The UE operations module 124 may provide information 142 to the encoder150. The information 142 may include data to be encoded and/orinstructions for encoding. For example, the UE operations module 124 mayinstruct the encoder 150 to encode transmission data 146 and/or otherinformation 142.

The encoder 150 may encode transmission data 146 and/or otherinformation 142 provided by the UE operations module 124. For example,encoding the data 146 and/or other information 142 may involve errordetection and/or correction coding, mapping data to space, time and/orfrequency resources for transmission, multiplexing, etc. The encoder 150may provide encoded data 152 to the modulator 154.

The UE operations module 124 may provide information 144 to themodulator 154. For example, the UE operations module 124 may inform themodulator 154 of a modulation type (e.g., constellation mapping) to beused for transmissions to the eNB 160. The modulator 154 may modulatethe encoded data 152 to provide one or more modulated signals 156 to theone or more transmitters 158.

The UE operations module 124 may provide information 140 to the one ormore transmitters 158. This information 140 may include instructions forthe one or more transmitters 158. For example, the UE operations module124 may instruct the one or more transmitters 158 when to transmit asignal to the eNB 160. The one or more transmitters 158 may upconvertand transmit the modulated signal(s) 156 to one or more eNBs 160.

The eNB 160 may include one or more transceivers 176, one or moredemodulators 172, one or more decoders 166, one or more encoders 109,one or more modulators 113, one or more data buffers 162 and one or moreeNB operations modules 182. For example, one or more reception and/ortransmission paths may be implemented in an eNB 160. For convenience,only a single transceiver 176, decoder 166, demodulator 172, encoder 109and modulator 113 are illustrated in the eNB 160, though multipleparallel elements (e.g., transceivers 176, decoders 166, demodulators172, encoders 109 and modulators 113) may be implemented.

The transceiver 176 may include one or more receivers 178 and one ormore transmitters 117. The one or more receivers 178 may receive signalsfrom the UE 102 using one or more antennas 180 a-n. For example, thereceiver 178 may receive and downconvert signals to produce one or morereceived signals 174. The one or more received signals 174 may beprovided to a demodulator 172. The one or more transmitters 117 maytransmit signals to the UE 102 using one or more antennas 180 a-n. Forexample, the one or more transmitters 117 may upconvert and transmit oneor more modulated signals 115.

The demodulator 172 may demodulate the one or more received signals 174to produce one or more demodulated signals 170. The one or moredemodulated signals 170 may be provided to the decoder 166. The eNB 160may use the decoder 166 to decode signals. The decoder 166 may produceone or more decoded signals 164, 168. For example, a first eNB-decodedsignal 164 may comprise received payload data, which may be stored in adata buffer 162. A second eNB-decoded signal 168 may comprise overheaddata and/or control data. For example, the second eNB decoded signal 168may provide data (e.g., PUCCH transmission data) that may be used by theeNB operations module 182 to perform one or more operations.

In general, the eNB operations module 182 may enable the eNB 160 tocommunicate with the one or more UEs 102. The eNB operations module 182may include one or more of an eNB PUCCH resource control module 194, aneNB scheduling request operation module 196, an eNB Time Alignmentoperation module 197, and an eNB Activation/Deactivation module 198. TheeNB operations module 182 may include PHY entities, MAC entities, RLCentities, PDCP entities, and an RRC entity.

The eNB operations module 182 may provide the benefit of performing ascheduling request procedure efficiently. The eNB PUCCH resource controlmodule 194 may control PUCCH Groups and PUCCH resources and controlparameters in PUCCH resource configuration. The eNB scheduling requestoperation module 196 may perform a scheduling request procedure. The eNBTime Alignment operation module 197 may perform the time alignmentprocedure including maintenance of uplink time alignment. The eNBActivation/Deactivation module 198 may perform anActivation/Deactivation procedure.

The eNB operations module 182 may provide information 190 to the one ormore receivers 178. For example, the eNB operations module 182 mayinform the receiver(s) 178 when or when not to receive transmissionsbased on the RRC message (e.g, broadcasted system information, RRCconnection reconfiguration message), MAC control element, and/or the DCI(Downlink Control Information).

The eNB operations module 182 may provide information 188 to thedemodulator 172. For example, the eNB operations module 182 may informthe demodulator 172 of a modulation pattern anticipated fortransmissions from the UE(s) 102.

The eNB operations module 182 may provide information 186 to the decoder166. For example, the eNB operations module 182 may inform the decoder166 of an anticipated encoding for transmissions from the UE(s) 102.

The eNB operations module 182 may provide information 101 to the encoder109. The information 101 may include data to be encoded and/orinstructions for encoding. For example, the eNB operations module 182may instruct the encoder 109 to encode transmission data 105 and/orother information 101.

In general, the eNB operations module 182 may enable the eNB 160 tocommunicate with one or more network nodes (e.g., a mobility managemententity (MME), serving gateway (S-GW), eNBs). The eNB operations module182 may also generate a RRC connection reconfiguration message to besignaled to the UE 102.

The encoder 109 may encode transmission data 105 and/or otherinformation 101 provided by the eNB operations module 182. For example,encoding the data 105 and/or other information 101 may involve errordetection and/or correction coding, mapping data to space, time and/orfrequency resources for transmission, multiplexing, etc. The encoder 109may provide encoded data 111 to the modulator 113. The transmission data105 may include network data to be relayed to the UE 102.

The eNB operations module 182 may provide information 103 to themodulator 113. This information 103 may include instructions for themodulator 113. For example, the eNB operations module 182 may inform themodulator 113 of a modulation type (e.g., constellation mapping) to beused for transmissions to the UE(s) 102. The modulator 113 may modulatethe encoded data 111 to provide one or more modulated signals 115 to theone or more transmitters 117.

The eNB operations module 182 may provide information 192 to the one ormore transmitters 117. This information 192 may include instructions forthe one or more transmitters 117. For example, the eNB operations module182 may instruct the one or more transmitters 117 when to (or when notto) transmit a signal to the UE(s) 102. The one or more transmitters 117may upconvert and transmit the modulated signal(s) 115 to one or moreUEs 102.

It should be noted that one or more of the elements or parts thereofincluded in the eNB(s) 160 and UE(s) 102 may be implemented in hardware.For example, one or more of these elements or parts thereof may beimplemented as a chip, circuitry or hardware components, etc. It shouldalso be noted that one or more of the functions or methods describedherein may be implemented in and/or performed using hardware. Forexample, one or more of the methods described herein may be implementedin and/or realized using a chipset, an application-specific integratedcircuit (ASIC), a large-scale integrated circuit (LSI) or integratedcircuit, etc.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating one implementation of a method 200for performing a scheduling request procedure by a UE 102.

The UE 102 may 202 receive one or more RRC messages from the eNB 160 toconfigure one or more of PUCCH Cell Groups, the PUCCH SCell, and SR. TheRRC layer of the UE 102 may configure RRC layer and/or lower layers(e.g., PHY layer, MAC layer, RLC layer, PDCP layer) of the UE 102according to RRC configurations which may be configured by the RRCmessages, broadcasted system information, and so on. For example, the UE102 may 202 receive a RRC message including a first parameter (e.g.,dsr-TransMax) related to a maximum number of scheduling requesttransmission for a secondary cell. The UE 102 may 204 perform ascheduling request procedure based on the first parameter.

The PHY layer of the UE 102 may be configured by higher layers (e.g.,MAC layer, RLC layer, PDCP layer, RRC layer) to 206 transmit the SR onone antenna port or two antenna ports on a PUCCH on a primary celland/or on a PUCCH on a secondary cell. The scheduling request may betransmitted on the PUCCH resource(s)

n _(PUCCH) ^((1,{tilde over (p)})) =n _(PUCCH,SRI)^((1,{tilde over (p)})) for {tilde over (p)}

mapped to antenna port p as defined in 3GPP TS 36.211, where

-   -   n_(PUCCH,SRI) ^((1,{tilde over (p)}))

is configured by the higher layers unless the SR coincides in time withthe transmission of HARQ-ACK using PUCCH Format 3 in which case the SRis multiplexed with HARQ-ACK according to subclause 5.2.3.1 of 3GPP TS36.212. The SR configuration for SR transmission periodicity (may bereferred as to SR periodicity) SR_(PERIODICITY) and SR subframe offsetN_(OFFSET), SR may be defined in (1) (from Table 10.1.5-1 in 3GPP TS36.213) by the parameter SR configuration index (sr-ConfigIndex) I_(SR)given by the higher layers.

SR transmission instances are the uplink subframes satisfying

(10×n _(f) +└n _(s)/2┘−N _(OFFSET,SR))mod SR _(PERIODICITY)=0.

n_(f) is a System frame number as defined in 3GPP TS 36.211. n_(s) is aSlot number within a radio frame as defined in 3GPP TS 36.211.

TABLE 1 UE-specific SR periodicity and subframe offset configuration SRconfiguration index SR periodicity (ms) SR subframe offset I_(SR)SR_(PERIODICITY) N_(OFFSET,SR) 0-4 5 I_(SR)  5-14 10 I_(SR)-5  15-34 20I_(SR)-15  35-74 40 I_(SR)-35   75-154 80 I_(SR)-75  155-156 2I_(SR)-155 157 1 I_(SR)-157

A dsr-TransMax information element (IE) may be a parameter which may beused in a scheduling request procedure to specify the maximum number ofscheduling request transmission. The Scheduling Request Configuration(SchedulingRequestConfig) IE may be information element in RRC layer andmay be used to specify the Scheduling Request related parameters. TheSchedulingRequestConfig IE may be configured for the PCell or for thePSCell. In a case that an SCell is configured as the PUCCH SCell, TheSchedulingRequestConfig IE may be configured for the PUCCH SCell.

The information element (IE) SchedulingRequestConfig is given below:

-- ASN1START SchedulingRequestConfig ::= CHOICE { release NULL, setupSEQUENCE { sr-PUCCH-ResourceIndex INTEGER (0..2047), sr-ConfigIndexINTEGER (0..157), dsr-TransMax ENUMERATED { n4, n8, n16, n32, n64,spare3, spare2, spare1} } } SchedulingRequestConfig-v1020 ::= SEQUENCE {sr-PUCCH-ResourceIndexP1-r10 INTEGER (0..2047) OPTIONAL -- Need OR } --ASN1STOP

For dsr-TransMax IE: the value n4 may correspond to 4 transmissions, n8corresponds to 8 transmissions and so on. The sr-ConfigIndex IE is aparameter I_(SR). The sr-PUCCH-ResourceIndex IE or thesr-PUCCH-ResourceIndexP1 IE is a parameter

-   -   n_(PUCCH,SRI) ^((1,p))

for antenna port P0 and for antenna port P1 respectively. E-UTRAN (e.g.,eNB) configures sr-PUCCH-ResourceIndexP1 only if sr-PUCCHResourceIndexis configured. The schedulingRequestConfig IE may include dsr-TransMax,srPUCCH-ResourceIndex, and sr-ConfigIndex. TheschedulingRequestConfig-v1020 IE may include sr-PUCCH-ResourceIndexP1.

A sr-ProhibitTimer IE may be used to specify expiration time ofsr-ProfibitTimer. The schedulingRequestConfig IE and/orschedulingRequestConfig-v1020 IE for the PCell may be included in aPhysicalConfigDedicated IE. The schedulingRequestConfig IE and/orschedulingRequestConfig-v1020 IE for the PSCell may be included in aPhysicalConfigDedicatedPSCell-r12 IE. The schedulingRequestConfig IEand/or schedulingRequestConfig-v1020 IE for the PUCCH SCell may beincluded in physicalConfigDedicatedSCell-r10 IE. The UE 102 may receiveor obtain those information elements from the eNB 160 by using a RRCconnection reconfiguration message, a RRC connection reestablishmentmessage or a RRC connection setup message.

The IE Physical Configuration Dedicated (PhysicalConfigDedicated), theIE Physical Configuration Dedicated PSCell-Rel-12(PhysicalConfigDedicatedPSCell-r12), and the IE Physical ConfigurationDedicated SCell-Rel-10 (physicalConfigDedicatedSCell-r10) may be used tospecify the UE specific physical channel configuration.

In one implementation of the MAC entity of the UE 102, a schedulingrequest procedure which is summarized in Listing (2) may be performed204.

The Scheduling Request (SR) may be used for requesting UL-SCH resourcesfor new transmission. When an SR is triggered, it may be considered aspending until it is cancelled. All pending SR(s) may be cancelled and SRprohibit timer (sr-ProhibitTimer) may be stopped when a MAC ProtocolData Unit (PDU) is assembled and this PDU includes a Buffer StatusReport (BSR) which contains buffer status up to (and including) the lastevent that triggered a BSR, or when the UL grant(s) can accommodate allpending data available for transmission.

Listing (2) If an SR is triggered and there is no other SR pending, theMAC entity may set the SR_COUNTER to 0. As long as one SR is pending,the MAC entity may for each TTI: - if no UL-SCH resources are availablefor a transmission in this TTI: - if the MAC entity has no valid PUCCHresource for SR configured in any TTI: initiate a Random Accessprocedure on the SpCell and cancel all pending SRs; - else if the MACentity has a valid PUCCH resource for SR configured for this TTI and ifthis TTI is not part of a measurement gap and if sr-ProhibitTimer is notrunning: - if dsr-TransMax for the SpCell is configured: - set theDSR_TRANSMAXSPCELL to dsr-TransMax for the SpCell, otherwise 0. - ifdsr-TransMax for the PUCCH SCell is configured and the PUCCH SCell isactivated: - set the DSR_TRANSMAXSCELL to dsr-TransMax for the PUCCHSCell, otherwise 0. - set the DSR_TRANSMAX to DSR_TRANSMAXSPCELL +DSR_TRANSMAXSCELL. - if SR_COUNTER <DSR_TRANSMAX: - increment SR_COUNTERby 1; - instruct the physical layer to signal the SR on PUCCH: - startthe sr-ProhibitTimer. - else: - notify RRC to release PUCCH/SoundingReference Signal (SRS) for all serving cells; - clear any configureddownlink assignments and uplink grants; - initiate a Random Accessprocedure on the SpCell and cancel all pending SRs.As long as one SR is pending, The MAC entity of the UE 102 may for eachTTI, determine 202 if no UL-SCH resources are available for atransmission in this TTI. The MAC entity of the UE 102 may alsodetermine 202 if the MAC entity has no valid PUCCH resource for SRconfigured in any TTI. The MAC entity of the UE 102 may also determine202 if the MAC entity has a valid PUCCH resource for SR configured forthis TTI and if this TTI is not part of a measurement gap and ifsr-ProhibitTimer is not running, if no UL-SCH resources are availablefor a transmission in this TTI and if the MAC entity has a valid PUCCHresource for SR configured for this TTI and if this TTI is not part of ameasurement gap and if sr-ProhibitTimer is not running, the MAC entityof the UE 102 may perform 203 the following steps.

If dsr-TransMax for the SpCell is configured, the MAC entity of the UE102 may set the DSR_TRANSMAXSPCELL to dsr-TransMax for the SpCell,otherwise 0. If dsr-TransMax for the PUCCH SCell is configured and thePUCCH SCell is activated, the MAC entity of the UE 102 may set theDSR_TRANSMAXSCELL to dsr-TransMax for the PUCCH SCell, otherwise 0.

The MAC entity of the UE 102 may 204 set the DSR_TRANSMAX toDSR_TRANSMAXSPCELL+DSR_TRANSMAXSCELL. Therefore, DSR_TRANSMAX may be anupper limit of the number of SR transmission and may be adjusted basedon dsr-TransMax for the PUCCH SCell.

SR_COUNTER may be a valuable which is incremented by 1 when the MACentity of the UE 102 may instruct the physical layer to signal the SR onPUCCH. The MAC entity of the UE 102 may determine if the SR_COUNTER isless than the DSR_TRANSMAX. In a case that the SR_COUNTER is less thanthe DSR_TRANSMAX, the MAC entity of the UE 102 may increment SR_COUNTERby 1, may instruct the physical layer to signal the SR on PUCCH, and maystart the sr-ProhibitTimer. Otherwise, the MAC entity of the UE 102 maynotify the RRC entity of the UE 102 to release PUCCH/Sounding ReferenceSignal (SRS) for all serving cells, may clear any configured downlinkassignments and uplink grants, and may initiate a Random Accessprocedure on the SpCell and cancel all pending SRs.

In another implementation for setting an upper limit of the number of SRtransmission, only one dsr-TransMax may be configured for the MAC entityof the UE 102. The eNB 160 set the dsr-TransMax to a sufficient valueconsidering total number of SR transmission both on the SpCell and onthe PUCCH SCell. The MAC entity of the UE 102 may determine if theSR_COUNTER is less than the dsr-TransMax. In a case that the SR_COUNTERis less than the dsr-TransMax, the MAC entity of the UE 102 mayincrement SR_COUNTER by 1, may instruct the physical layer to signal theSR on PUCCH, and may start the sr-ProhibitTimer. Otherwise, the MACentity of the UE 102 may notify the RRC entity of the UE 102 to releasePUCCH/Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) for all serving cells, may clearany configured downlink assignments and uplink grants, and may initiatea Random Access procedure on the SpCell and cancel all pending SRs.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating one implementation of a method 500for performing a scheduling request procedure related toactivation/deactivation by a UE 102. As describe in FIG. 2, ifdsr-TransMax for the PUCCH SCell is configured and the PUCCH SCell isactivated, the MAC entity of the UE 102 may 502 set theDSR_TRANSMAXSCELL to dsr-TransMax for the PUCCH SCell, otherwise 0. Inother words, the UE 102 may 502 set a value (e.g., DSR_TRANSMAX) relatedto the maximum number of scheduling request transmission based onwhether the secondary cell is activated. In a case that the SR_COUNTERis less than the DSR_TRANSMAX, the MAC entity of the UE 102 mayincrement SR_COUNTER by 1, may 504 instruct the physical layer to signalthe SR on PUCCH, and may start the sr-ProhibitTimer.

In one implementation, in a case that the PUCCH SCell is deactivated,the MAC entity of the UE 102 may consider PUCCH resources for SR on thePUCCH SCell as invalid. In a case that the PUCCH SCell is activated, theMAC entity of the UE 102 may apply normal SCell operation includingmaking PUCCH resources for SR on the PUCCH SCell valid. In anotherimplementation, upon deactivation of the PUCCH SCell, the MAC entity ofthe UE 102 may notify the RRC entity of the UE 102 to release PUCCH forthe PUCCH SCell. In these implementations, activation/deactivation cancontrol PUCCH resources efficiently.

In a case that the MAC entity receives an Activation/Deactivation MACcontrol element in this TTI activating the SCell, the MAC entity may, ina TTI according to a defined timing, activate the SCell. In a case thatthe MAC entity receives an Activation/Deactivation MAC control elementin this TTI deactivating the SCell or in a case that an SCellDeactivation Timer (sCellDeactivationTimer) timer associated with theactivated SCell expires in this TTI, the UE 102 may deactivate the SCellin a TTI according to a defined timing. The MAC entity of the UE 102 maymaintain a sCellDeactivationTimer timer per configured SCell anddeactivate the associated SCell upon its expiry. The MAC entity of theUE 102 may not use sCellDeactivationTimer timer for the PUCCH SCell butother SCells only. The scheduling request procedure related toactivation/deactivation may provide benefits of flexibility ofconfiguration of SR configuration, and/or activation/deactivationprocedure.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating one implementation of a method 700for performing a PUCCH release procedure related to a schedulingrequest. Upon receiving a PUCCH/SRS release request from lower layers(e.g, the MAC entity) of the UE 102, the RRC entity of the UE 102 mayapply the default physical channel configuration for cqi-ReportConfigand release cqi-ReportConfigSCell, for each SCell that is configured, ifany. Upon receiving a PUCCH/SRS release request from lower layers (e.g,the MAC entity) of the UE 102, the RRC entity of the UE 102 may applythe default physical channel configuration forsoundingRS-UL-ConfigDedicated for all serving cells. Upon receiving aPUCCH/SRS release request from lower layers (e.g, the MAC entity) of theUE 102, the RRC entity of the UE 102 may 702 apply the default physicalchannel configuration for schedulingRequestConfig for all serving cells.The default physical channel configuration for cqi-ReportConfig, forsoundingRS-UL-ConfigDedicated and for schedulingRequestConfig may bevalue “release” or value “N/A”. “N/A” indicates that the UE 102 does notapply a specific value. Upon receiving an SRS release request from lowerlayers, the RRC entity of the UE 102 may apply the default physicalchannel configuration for soundingRS-UL-ConfigDedicated for the cells ofthe concerned TAG. Upon receiving a PUCCH release request from lowerlayers, the RRC entity of the UE 102 may 704 apply the default physicalchannel configuration for schedulingRequestConfig for the concernedPUCCH Sell or may release schedulingRequestConfig for the concernedPUCCH Sell.

The MAC entity of the UE 102 may receive a Timing Advance Command MACcontrol element. The Timing Advance Command MAC CE may indicate a TAGand a Timing Advance Command. The Timing Advance Command field in theTiming Advance Command MAC CE may indicate an index value T_(A) (0, 1, 2. . . 63) used to control the amount of timing adjustment that MACentity has to apply. The MAC entity of the UE 102 may apply the TimingAdvance Command for an indicated TAG. The MAC entity of UE 102 may startor restart the timeAliggnmentTimer associated with the indicated TAG. Ina case that a timeAlignmentTimer expires and the timeAlignmentTimer isassociated with the pTAG, the MAC entity of the UE 102 may flush allHARQ buffers for all serving cells, may notify RRC to release PhysicalUplink Control Channel (PUCCH)/Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) for allserving cells, may clear any configured downlink assignments and uplinkgrants, and may consider all running timeAlignmentTimers as expired. Ina case that a timeAlignmentTimer expires and the timeAlignmentTimer isassociated with an sTAG, for all Serving Cells belonging to this TAG,the MAC entity of the UE 102 may flush all HARQ buffers, may notify RRCto release SRS, and in a case that the PUCCH SCell belongs to this TAG,may notify RRC to release PUCCH. Releasing SCell PUCCH SR may providebenefits of flexibility of configuration of SR configuration,activation/deactivation procedure, and/or time alignment timer setting.

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram illustrating one implementation of a method 900for setting SR prohibit timer for a scheduling request procedure. TheRRC entity of the UE 102 may receive 902, from the eNB 160, a RRCmessage including a parameter related to a SR periodicity (i.e.,sr-ConfigIndex) for a secondary cell and a parameter related to a SRprohibit timer (i.e. sr-ProhibitTimer). The RRC entity of the UE 102 may904 set the SR prohibit timer based on the SR periodicity for thesecondary cell and may apply the SR prohibit timer. The sr-ConfigIndexmay specify a SR periodicity and a SR subframe offset. The sr-ProhibitTimer may be a timer used for SR procedure. The sr-Prohibit timer may beused to prohibit a SR transmission for a certain period. Value 0 meansno timer for SR transmission on PUCCH is configured. Value 1 correspondsto one SR period, Value 2 corresponds to 2*SR periods and so on. In acase that the SR is configured for a PCell only, the SR period fordetermining a timer period may be a SR periodicity for the PCell. In acase that the SR is configured for a SCell only, the SR period fordetermining a timer period may be a SR periodicity for the SCell. In acast that the SR is configured for a SCell and for a PCell, the SRperiod for determining a timer period may be a SR periodicity withshorter (or shortest) period between the PCell and the SCell(s). Inother word, in a case that SR periodicity configured for the PCell is 8ms and SR periodicity configured for the SCell is 4 ms, then 4 ms (i.e.shorter) SR periodicity is used for determining the SR prohibit timerperiod. The UE 120 may sets the SR prohibit timer based on the SRperiodicity for the secondary cell and the SR periodicity for theprimary cell. In another example, in a case that the SR is configuredfor a SCell and for a PCell, the SR period for determining a timerperiod may be a SR periodicity with longer (or longest) period betweenthe PCell and the SCell(s). In yet another example, in a case that theSR is configured for a SCell and for a PCell, the SR period fordetermining a timer period may be a SR periodicity for the PCell. In yetanother example, in a case that the SR is configured for a SCell and fora PCell, the SR period for determining a timer period may be a SRperiodicity for the PCell. Setting SR prohibit timer based on the SCellSR periodicity may provide benefits of flexibility of configuration ofSR prohibit timer and reduction of signaling overhead.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating one implementation of a method 300for performing a scheduling request procedure by an eNB 160. The eNB 160may transmit one or more RRC messages to the UE 102 to configure, forthe UE 102, one or more of PUCCH Cell Groups, the PUCCH SCell, and SR.The RRC layer of the eNB 160 may assume or consider that the RRC layerof the UE 102 configures RRC layer and/or lower layers (e.g., PHY layer,MAC layer, RLC layer, PDCP layer) of the UE 102 according to RRCconfigurations which may be configured by the RRC messages, broadcastedsystem information, and so on. For example, the eNB 160 may 302 transmita RRC message including a first parameter (e.g., dsr-TransMax) relatedto a maximum number of scheduling request transmission for a secondarycell. The eNB 160 may 304 receive a scheduling request on a PhysicalUplink Control Channel (PUCCH) on the secondary cell, wherein ascheduling request procedure is performed based on the first parameter.

A sr-ProhibitTimer IE, the schedulingRequestConfig IE,schedulingRequestConfigv1020 IE, PhysicalConfigDedicated IE, aPhysicalConfigDedicatedPSCell-r12 IE, physicalConfigDedicatedSCell-r10IE, etc may be transmitted from the eNB 160 to the UE 102 by using a RRCconnection reconfiguration message, a RRC connection reestablishmentmessage, a RRC connection setup message, etc. eNB 160 may configure UE102 with dsr-TransMax for the PUCCH SCell. Configuring dsr-TranMax forthe PUCCH SCell independently of the PCell may provide benefits offlexibility of configuration of upper limit of the number of SRtransmission.

In one implementation of the MAC entity of the eNB 160, the eNB 160 maycontrol or manage a scheduling request procedure which is summarized inListing (2) and may be performed by the UE 102. The eNB 160 may assumeor consider that the UE 102 performs the scheduling request procedurewhich is described in FIG. 2, FIG. 5, and FIG. 7. The eNB 160 may assumeor consider that the UE 102 performs the deactivation procedure which isdescribed in FIG. 2, FIG. 5, and FIG. 7. The eNB 160 may receive a SR onthe PUCCH on the SpCell in a case that the eNB 160 configures UE withthe SR on the PUCCH on the PCell or PSCell. The eNB 160 may receive a SRon the PUCCH on the PUCCH SCell in a case that the eNB 160 configures UEwith the SR on the PUCCH on the PUCCH SCell.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating one implementation of a method 600for performing a scheduling request procedure related toactivation/deactivation by an eNB 160. The eNB 160 may 602 transmit anActivation/Deactivation MAC control element. The eNB 160 may 604receive, from a user equipment (UE), a scheduling request (SR) on aPhysical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), wherein the SR may betransmitted by the UE based on whether scheduling request counter isless than the maximum number of scheduling request transmission. Thescheduling request counter may be incremented in a case that thescheduling request counter is less than the maximum number of schedulingrequest transmission. A value related to the maximum number ofscheduling request transmission may be set based on whether a secondarycell is activated. The scheduling request procedure related toactivation/deactivation may provide benefits of flexibility ofconfiguration of SR configuration, and/or activation/deactivationprocedure.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating one implementation of a method 600for performing a PUCCH release procedure related to a scheduling requestby an eNB 160. The eNB 160 may 802 transmit a Timing Advance Command MACcontrol element. The eNB 160 may consider that the UE applies a defaultphysical channel configuration for a scheduling request configurationfor all serving cells, upon receiving the PUCCH/SRS release request fromthe lower layer of the UE. eNB may 804 consider the UE applies thedefault physical channel configuration for a scheduling requestconfiguration for a concerned secondary cell, upon receiving the PUCCHrelease request from the lower layers of the UE. Releasing SCell PUCCHSR may provide benefits of flexibility of configuration of SRconfiguration, activation/deactivation procedure, and/or time alignmenttimer setting.

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating one implementation of a method1000 for setting SR prohibit timer for a scheduling request procedure bythe eNB 160. The RRC entity of the eNB 160 may 1002 transmit, to the UE102, a RRC message including a parameter related to a SR periodicity(i.e., sr-ConfigIndex) for a secondary cell and a parameter related to aSR prohibit timer (i.e. sr-ProhibitTimer). The eNB 160 may 1004 assumeor consider that the UE 120 sets the SR prohibit timer based on the SRperiodicity for the secondary cell and may apply the SR prohibit timer.The sr-ConfigIndex may specify a SR periodicity and a SR subframeoffset. The sr-Prohibit Timer may be a timer used for SR procedure. Thesr-Prohibit timer may be used to prohibit a SR transmission for acertain period. Value 0 means no timer for SR transmission on PUCCH isconfigured. Value 1 corresponds to one SR period, Value 2 corresponds to2*SR periods and so on. In a case that the SR is configured for a PCellonly, the SR period for determining a timer period may be a SRperiodicity for the PCell. Setting SR prohibit timer based on the SCellSR periodicity may provide benefits of flexibility of configuration ofSR prohibit timer and reduction of signaling overhead.

FIG. 4a through 4d are diagrams illustrating examples for configurationof SR on a PUCCH on a PCell or an SCell. FIG. 4a shows an example of acase that a PCell for a UE 102 is configured with theschedulingRequestConfig IE. SR resources are shown in 401-407. Thescheduling request is configured only for the PCell. SR periodicity is 4ms. FIG. 4b shows an example of a case that a PCell for a UE 102 isconfigured with the schedulingRequestConfig IE and an SCell (i.e. PUCCHSCell) for a UE 102 is also configured with schedulingRequestConfig IE.The scheduling request is configured for the PCell and the SCell. SRresources for the SCell are shown in 411-417. SR resources for the SCellare shown in 421-424. SR periodicity for PCell is 8 ms and for SCell is4 ms. The subframes for resources for the PCell and the SCell are notoverlapped based on SR subframe offset. FIG. 4c shows an example of acase that an SCell (i.e. PUCCH SCell) for a UE 102 is configured withthe schedulingRequestConfig IE. The scheduling request is configured forthe PCell and the SCell. SR resources for the SCell are shown in431-437. SR periodicity for SCell is 4 ms. FIG. 4d shows another exampleof a case that a PCell for a UE 102 is configured with theschedulingRequestConfig IE and an SCell (i.e. PUCCH SCell) for a UE 102is also configured with schedulingRequestConfig IE. The schedulingrequest is configured for the PCell and the SCell. SR resources for theSCell are shown in 441-447. SR resources for the SCell are shown in451-454. SR periodicity for PCell is 8 ms and for SCell is 4 ms. Thesubframes for resources for the PCell and the SCell are overlapped.

As shown FIG. 4c , if the E-UTRAN (e.g, the eNB 160) configure SRsubframe offset as SR resources among serving cells in any TTI (i.e. anysubframe) are not overlapped, the PHY layer of the UE 102 may not needto handle selection among SR resources or power sharing among SRresources. In a case that the MAC entity of the UE 102 instructs the PHYlayer to signal the SR on the PUCCH in a TTI, the PHY layer of the UE102 may transmit the SR in the TTI according to SR configurations. Inthe FIG. 4c , if the SCell is deactivated, the number of subframes(i.e., SR transmission occasions) for PUCCH resources for the SR in acertain period may change. Therefore, it may be efficient thatdsr-TransMax is configured for each of serving cells configured with thePUCCH (i.e., the PCell and the PUCCH SCell). In these implementations,efficient resource management for the PUCCH for the SR may be provided.

On the other hand, as shown FIG. 4d , if the E-UTRAN (e.g, the eNB 160)configure SR subframe offset as SR resources among serving cells in aTTI (i.e. a subframe) are overlapped, the PHY layer of the UE 102 mayneed to handle selection among SR resources or power sharing among SRresources. In the FIG. 4d , if the SCell is deactivated, the number ofsubframes (i.e., SR transmission occasions) for PUCCH resources for theSR in a certain period may not change. Therefore, it may be efficientthat one dsr-TransMax is configured for the MAC entity or that thedsr-TransMax for the PUCCH SCell is adjusted based on consideration ofsum with dsr-TransMax for the PCell in eNB 160 internally and eNB 160sends appropriate values for the dsr-TransMax for the PCell and for theSCell. In one implementation, in a case that the MAC entity of the UE102 instructs the PHY layer to signal the SR on the PUCCH in a TTI, thePHY layer of the UE 102 may transmit the SR on both the PUCCH on thePCell and the PUCCH on the SCell in the TTI according to SRconfigurations. In another implementation, in a case that the MAC entityof the UE 102 instructs the PHY layer to signal the SR on PUCCH in aTTI, the PHY layer of the UE 102 may transmit the SR on one of the PUCCHon the PCell and the PUCCH on the SCell in the TTI according to SRconfigurations. eNB 160 may send, to the UE 102, a RRC message tospecify whether the UE 102 transmits the SR on both the PUCCH on thePCell and the SCell or not and/or which the PUCCH on the PCell or thePUCCH on the SCell is selected in a collision. In these implementations,efficient resource management for the PUCCH for the SR may be provided.

FIG. 11 illustrates various components that may be utilized in a UE1102. The UE 1102 described in connection with FIG. 11 may beimplemented in accordance with the UE 102 described in connection withFIG. 1. The UE 1102 includes a processor 1181 that controls operation ofthe UE 1102. The processor 1181 may also be referred to as a centralprocessing unit (CPU). Memory 1187, which may include read-only memory(ROM), random access memory (RAM), a combination of the two or any typeof device that may store information, provides instructions 1183 a anddata 1185 a to the processor 1181. A portion of the memory 1187 may alsoinclude non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM). Instructions 1183 band data 1185 b may also reside in the processor 1181. Instructions 1183b and/or data 1185 b loaded into the processor 1181 may also includeinstructions 1183 a and/or data 1185 a from memory 1187 that were loadedfor execution or processing by the processor 1181. The instructions 1183b may be executed by the processor 1181 to implement one or more of themethods 200, 500, 700 and 900 described above.

The UE 1102 may also include a housing that contains one or moretransmitters 1158 and one or more receivers 1120 to allow transmissionand reception of data. The transmitter(s) 1158 and receiver(s) 1120 maybe combined into one or more transceivers 1118. One or more antennas1122 a-n are attached to the housing and electrically coupled to thetransceiver 1118.

The various components of the UE 1102 are coupled together by a bussystem 1189, which may include a power bus, a control signal bus and astatus signal bus, in addition to a data bus. However, for the sake ofclarity, the various buses are illustrated in FIG. 11 as the bus system1189. The UE 1102 may also include a digital signal processor (DSP) 1191for use in processing signals. The UE 1102 may also include acommunications interface 1193 that provides user access to the functionsof the UE 1102. The UE 1102 illustrated in FIG. 11 is a functional blockdiagram rather than a listing of specific components.

FIG. 12 illustrates various components that may be utilized in an eNB1260. The eNB 1260 described in connection with FIG. 12 may beimplemented in accordance with the eNB 160 described in connection withFIG. 1. The eNB 1260 includes a processor 1281 that controls operationof the eNB 1260. The processor 1281 may also be referred to as a centralprocessing unit (CPU). Memory 1287, which may include read-only memory(ROM), random access memory (RAM), a combination of the two or any typeof device that may store information, provides instructions 1283 a anddata 1285 a to the processor 1281. A portion of the memory 1287 may alsoinclude non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM). Instructions 1283 band data 1285 b may also reside in the processor 1281. Instructions 1283b and/or data 1285 b loaded into the processor 1281 may also includeinstructions 1283 a and/or data 1285 a from memory 1287 that were loadedfor execution or processing by the processor 1281. The instructions 1283b may be executed by the processor 1281 to implement one or more of themethods 300, 600, 800 and 1000 described above.

The eNB 1260 may also include a housing that contains one or moretransmitters 1217 and one or more receivers 1278 to allow transmissionand reception of data. The transmitter(s) 1217 and receiver(s) 1278 maybe combined into one or more transceivers 1276. One or more antennas1280 a-n are attached to the housing and electrically coupled to thetransceiver 1276.

The various components of the eNB 1260 are coupled together by a bussystem 1289, which may include a power bus, a control signal bus and astatus signal bus, in addition to a data bus. However, for the sake ofclarity, the various buses are illustrated in FIG. 12 as the bus system1289. The eNB 1260 may also include a digital signal processor (DSP)1291 for use in processing signals. The eNB 1260 may also include acommunications interface 1293 that provides user access to the functionsof the eNB 1260. The eNB 1260 illustrated in FIG. 12 is a functionalblock diagram rather than a listing of specific components.

The term “computer-readable medium” refers to any available medium thatcan be accessed by a computer or a processor. The term“computer-readable medium,” as used herein, may denote a computer-and/or processor-readable medium that is non-transitory and tangible. Byway of example, and not limitation, a computer-readable orprocessor-readable medium may comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or otheroptical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storagedevices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desiredprogram code in the form of instructions or data structures and that canbe accessed by a computer or processor. Disk and disc, as used herein,includes compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatiledisc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray (registered trademark) disc wheredisks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce dataoptically with lasers.

It should be noted that one or more of the methods described herein maybe implemented in and/or performed using hardware. For example, one ormore of the methods described herein may be implemented in and/orrealized using a chipset, an application-specific integrated circuit(ASIC), a large-scale integrated circuit (LSI) or integrated circuit,etc.

Each of the methods disclosed herein comprises one or more steps oractions for achieving the described method. The method steps and/oractions may be interchanged with one another and/or combined into asingle step without departing from the scope of the claims. In otherwords, unless a specific order of steps or actions is required forproper operation of the method that is being described, the order and/oruse of specific steps and/or actions may be modified without departingfrom the scope of the claims.

It is to be understood that the claims are not limited to the preciseconfiguration and components illustrated above. Various modifications,changes and variations may be made in the arrangement, operation anddetails of the systems, methods and apparatus described herein withoutdeparting from the scope of the claims.

1-8. (canceled)
 9. A method by a user equipment (UE), comprising:receiving a RRC message including a first parameter related to a maximumnumber of scheduling request transmission for a secondary cell;performing a scheduling request procedure based on the first parameter;and transmitting a scheduling request on a Physical Uplink ControlChannel (PUCCH) on the secondary cell, wherein the RRC message furtherincludes a second parameter related to a maximum number of schedulingrequest transmission for a primary cell and in a case that the RRCmessage includes the first parameter and the second parameter, thescheduling request procedure is performed based on the first parameteror the second parameter.
 10. A method by an evolved Node B (eNB),comprising: transmitting a RRC message including a first parameterrelated to a maximum number of scheduling request transmission for asecondary cell; and receiving a scheduling request on a Physical UplinkControl Channel (PUCCH) on the secondary cell, wherein a schedulingrequest procedure is performed based on the first parameter, wherein theRRC message further includes a second parameter related to a maximumnumber of scheduling request transmission for a primary cell and in acase that the RRC message includes the first parameter and the secondparameter, the scheduling request procedure is performed based on thefirst parameter or the second parameter.
 11. A user equipment (UE),comprising: a processing circuitry configured and/or programmed to:receive a RRC message including a first parameter related to a maximumnumber of scheduling request transmission for a secondary cell; performa scheduling request procedure based on the first parameter; andtransmit a scheduling request on a Physical Uplink Control Channel(PUCCH) on the secondary cell, wherein the RRC message further includesa second parameter related to a maximum number of scheduling requesttransmission for a primary cell and the scheduling request procedure isperformed further based on the second parameter.
 12. An evolved Node B(eNB), comprising: a processing circuitry configured and/or programmedto: transmit a RRC message including a first parameter related to amaximum number of scheduling request transmission for a secondary cell;and receive a scheduling request on a Physical Uplink Control Channel(PUCCH) on the secondary cell, wherein a scheduling request procedure isperformed based on the first parameter, wherein the RRC message furtherincludes a second parameter related to a maximum number of schedulingrequest transmission for a primary cell and in a case that the RRCmessage includes the first parameter and the second parameter, thescheduling request procedure is performed based on the first parameteror the second parameter.